Top of the Box

[Gordon Lee]

Greetings Fellow SB Boarders
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Egad.   I appreciate all the help I received in identifying those stamps that I pushed down into the Bottom of the Box (the 12"x12"x 9" U.S.P.S. Priority Mail shipping carton received from Mr. KsStampman last January 2014) which contained over 20,000 off-paper stamps).  Unfortunately I forgot about 200 stamps that I set aside for later identification when I first climbed into the box way back a year and a half ago.  Fortunately, in the last day or two I identified a hundred and eighty-nine of them.   Thus, eleven stamps remain to be checked off the "need-to-be-id list".  (I know, I know . . . half of them I should recognize right off the bat, but my brain and eyeballs (by this point) are all frazzled.  Therefore, I bet you guys will peg them right off.)
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Top of the Box - Group One
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I'm looking for the country of issue, issue date, known variances, and Scott number (if applicable).
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Thank you all in advance.
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Respectfully,

Gordon Lee

[Gordon Lee]

Greetings Fellow SB Boarders
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Top of the Box - Group Two
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Respectfully,

Gordon Lee

[Gordon Lee]

Greetings Fellow SB Boarders
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Top of the Box - Group Three of Three
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Respectfully,

Gordon Lee

[Deleted]

Jun 24, 2015 15:04:14 GMT -5 Gordon Lee said:

Greetings Fellow SB Boarders
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Top of the Box - Group Two
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Respectfully,

Gordon Lee

The one on the right is, I think, a stamp prepared for use in December 1920 for an administration resisting the Red Army in part of the Ukraine, but never issued or used postally because the administration, headed by Simon Petlyura, was forced out of the Ukraine in late November 1920. There were 14 such stamps, and in 2008 Stanley Gibbons gave the complete set a price of £3. So, if I am right, the stamp won't, alas, make your fortune. It is, though, a very interesting historical curiosity.

[khj]

s1 = German Federal Railways stamp (c1921 based on cancel), will not be Scott-listed, and I don't have the specialty catalog. Maybe PostmasterGS?

s2 = Belgium #18 or 18a (check perfs/paper)

s3 = I believe this is a Turkish revenue.

I have to run an errand, I'll try to look up the Turkish revenue when I return if nobody chimes in.

EDIT: OK, the Turkish stamp is a consular revenue stamp. In the Forbin catalog, it is Turkey Consulate #18(1889). This stamp does exist in different colors/perforation/paper varieties that can used to distinguish it from several sets issued in other years. But yours is definitely the 1889 issue.

[khj]

s1 = Dutch revenue stamp, in the Forbin catalog, Netherlands #245(1886-1900), several compound perforation varieties

s2 = Montenegro government-in-exile cinderella, not listed in Scott

s3 = Yugoslavia-area, appears to be a postal tax stamp, but it doesn't seem to be in Scott, and I don't even see it in Milanovic either! 

s4 = @michaelcayley already provided ID

[khj]

s1 = Egyptian?

s2 = Uruguayan revenue, in Forbin it's Uruguay #1(1871)

s3 = Serbia #80(1904)

s4 = variety of Germany DDR East Saxony #15N5(30Jun1945);  Michel goes into more detail;  PostmasterGS should be able to give you a more specific ID

[PostmasterGS]

Jun 24, 2015 17:35:23 GMT -5 khj said:

s1 = German Federal Railways stamp (c1921 based on cancel), will not be Scott-listed, and I don't have the specialty catalog. Maybe PostmasterGS?

Group 1, #1 is actually a Swiss railway revenue. Note the words "Schweiz Bundesbahnen" (Swiss Federal Railways) across one edge. Here's an image from a Delcampe lot of what I assume is a complete set.

Jun 24, 2015 20:43:58 GMT -5 khj said:

s4 = variety of Germany DDR East Saxony #15N5(30Jun1945);  Michel goes into more detail;  PostmasterGS should be able to give you a more specific ID

Group 3, #4 is from Soviet-occupied East Saxony, 1945. Michel lists about 20 distinct varieties of this stamp, with the major distinction being the perforation. I can't tell from the photo -- is that a straight-cut imperf or a very weak, fine rouletting?

[khj]

Jun 25, 2015 4:09:16 GMT -5 PostmasterGS said:

Group 1, #1 is actually a Swiss railway revenue. Note the words "Schweiz Bundesbahnen" (Swiss Federal Railways) across one edge.

Ah, I see that more clearly now. Thank you PostmasterGS. At my initial glance, I thought it was "Schwarz". I guess I've watched too many Mel Brooks movies.

May the Schwartz be with you!

[khj]

Jun 25, 2015 4:09:16 GMT -5 PostmasterGS said:

Group 3, #4 is from Soviet-occupied East Saxony, 1945. Michel lists about 20 distinct varieties of this stamp, with the major distinction being the perforation. I can't tell from the photo -- is that a straight-cut imperf or a very weak, fine rouletting?

I was wondering about that, too. The left side is definitely straight-cut. But the other three sides seem to have a poorly defined/torn fine roulette. Gordon Lee will have to give us the details...

[PostmasterGS]

Jun 25, 2015 12:58:29 GMT -5 khj said:

Ah, I see that more clearly now. Thank you PostmasterGS. At my initial glance, I thought it was "Schwarz". I guess I've watched too many Mel Brooks movies.

May the Schwartz be with you!

I didn't notice it at first glance, but I knew it couldn't be German. Germany didn't use the word "Bund" until the establishment of the BRD, and the cancel long pre-dated that.

Great flick! One of my favorite comedies.

[rayb]

Group 2 #3 is indeed Yugoslav. It is a fund raising label produced by the League Against Tuberculosis (hence the Cross of Lorainne).

Khj rightly points out its absence from Milanovic. Milanovic only lists the unofficial TB labels from 1950 onwards, but there were many more issued before WW2 viz 1 in 1929, 1 in 1930, 2 in 1931, 3 in 1934, 2 in 1935, 2 in 1936 and 1 in 1937.

Yours is one of the 1935s. The other has the same design, is blue and is 1 dinar in denomination. I am reasonably convinced that the woman is Queen Marie, who in 1935 would be Queen Mother, her husband King Aleksander having been assassinated in 1929. She certainly appears on the 1936 issue, but is rather difficult to recognise here because of the headdress which I presume constitutes widow's weeds.

[rayb]

This is Mr Lee's stamp 'used' on a record of postage/delivery parcel receipt and a selection of the other preWar labels:

[Gordon Lee]

Greetings Mr. @michaelcayley, Mr. khj, Mr. PostmasterGS, and Mr. rayb,
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I think I hit upon a sure-fire way (at least a lazy-mans' way) of getting all those obscure stamps easily identified . . . just post them here in Stamp Bears. As it is, thanks to all you guys. You've set an old feller's mind at ease and saved me hours of bouncing my head off the walls.
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The Belgium stamp is definitely an 18a. I just wish that old fellow was in better shape. Regardless, he's filling a spot in my album.
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Mr. rayb, thank you for re-iterating the information about the Yugoslav fund raising label produced by the League Against Tuberculosis. I just knew I saw that lady before -- but not in a Scott catalog.
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As for that German Democratic Republic 15N5 and it's perforation, here is an individual scan:
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It does indeed have a left straight-edge. The other three sides tend to be rouletted.  (I was hoping that smudge was a cancellation, but it is completely gummed on the back side.)
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You guys are the best. Again thank you.
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Respectfully,

Gordon Lee

[khj]

Thanks for the fun!

I did learn about Swiss railway stamps and unlisted Yugoslav charity stamps today! Revenues/cinderellas are one of several weak areas for me, so this was very good for me.

[Gordon Lee]

Greetings Mr. khj
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I know exactly what you mean. If it is not listed in Scott (and sometimes even if it is) I get completely lost.
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Respectfully,

Gordon Lee

[PostmasterGS]

Since there's rouletting, it's likely you have a MiNr 43 B II b.



The color appears to be black-blue-green, which would rule out the 13-13.5 rouletted variety. The cut side gives me pause, though. The perf varieties on these cover about four full pages in Michel, but I don't see this one. Makes me think I might be missing something. There are a couple rare varieties resulting from postmasters correcting perf or rouletting problems at the local post office, and I don't have the specialized knowledge to spot these.

[Gordon Lee]

Greetings Mr. PostmasterGS
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I appreciate the effort you have exerted in trying to identify this stamp. It is my guess, because of the slight arcing and jag at the top of the straight edge, is that the left perforation was trimmed from a four-sided roulette perforation.
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For my simplified identification purposes I will let it go as a simple unused Scott 15N5.
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Again, I really appreciate your help.
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Respectfully,

Gordon Lee